What happens if parents refuse to help with uni costs?

[Esko]

Situation: Young person applied for medicine but failed to get in. She has been offered a science course at a uni in London where the family resides. Parents are relatively high earners, so she is entitled to the minimum living allowance loan only.

Parents say they refuse to support her at uni doing this degree and want her to reapply for medicine. If she takes up other degree they refuse to support her and she has to leave.

Is there any way she can declare herself independent/estranged from parents and get a larger loan?

Nope. Well, under the scheme I applied under anyway. You have to prove you have been living independently for at least a year.

So the applicant would have to defer and prove she was supporting herself for a year before she got a larger grant and loan.

They ask for wage slips, bank statements and proof you pay the bills.

Call student finance.

The poster before me seems more clued up on present eligibility criteria

Good luck op

If you're over 25 then you are considered independent from your parents automatically. I was when I went to university so my (very very small) salary was considered for my loan even though I declared I was living at home.

Does she want to do medicine or not? If parents will support another attempt then why not go along with it. If there is still rejection next year then perhaps the parents will see sense.
Meanwhile, the pupil can get work experience and/or earn some financial independence money in their gap year.

It is possible to do a first degree related to medicine and then transfer to a medic course. It might take a bit longer but I think this can be done. Is this not an option? Obviously very pushy and disappointed parents!

She could get a pt job, speak to the university about a bursary and hardship funds - they will want to help her. And she can earn as much as possible over the summer so she has a bit of cash behind her.

Her parents sound awful by the way

Get her to talk to the Uni.
A chap I was at Uni with had absurdly rich parents who used him as a pawn in their vile divorce so he had no money at all - no student loans then

the hardship and support funds got him through

Thanks for your comments. I will advise her to speak to the uni etc as you suggest.

She would also be considered independent if she was married (or had been, even if the marriage broke down before starting the course), or if she had a baby of her own. I've known students on medicine/science courses in both these situations and their parental income was not taken into account.

If she is still keen to do medicine, the best option financially would probably to be to take a gap year and apply with results (and more work experience). If it was my DC and they wanted to do medicine, this is what I would advise. Trying to apply as a graduate or after completing 1 year of another degree would mean she would have to finance some of the course herself.
If she doesn't want to do medicine then the science course would be a good option if that is what she wants to do.